Written by

Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

EAST LANSING — As the Michigan State season winds toward the postseason and a conclusion later this month or in early April, NBA draft decisions will come into focus.

One is no longer a question. Sophomore forward Branden Dawson told WLNS TV-6 in Lansing after Tuesday’s practice that he will return for his junior season.

“I have no decision (to make) after the season. … I have a lot to work on,” said Dawson, who tore the ACL in his left knee on March 4, 2012. “I’m not going anywhere. I want to get my degree, and I want to win a national championship.”

Dawson is not considered a first-round pick by analysts at this point, but that doesn’t always stop a player from leaving early.

MSU freshman guard Gary Harris and junior forward Adreian Payne are projected by some as possible first-round picks, and both have said they will worry about their NBA decisions after the season.

No. 10 MSU hosts No. 22 Wisconsin on Thursday and finishes the regular season Sunday at home against Northwestern.

Tom Izzo’s program hasn’t had this many underclassmen with early-entry potential in years. Durrell Summers and Kalin Lucas considered leaving a year early in 2010, as did Paul Davis and Maurice Ager in 2005. In 2001, freshman Zach Randolph and sophomore Jason Richardson did leave, and both went in the first round.

Shannon Brown was Izzo’s last early departure, leaving as a junior in 2006 and going in the first round to Cleveland. Marcus Taylor (2002) and Erazem Lorbek (2003) also left early for the draft. Taylor went in the second round to Minnesota and Lorbek the second round to Indiana in 2005.

ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford ranks Harris as the No.10 prospect for this year’s draft. Izzo hasn’t had an underclassman regarded that highly at this point in a season since Randolph and Richardson.

Shoulder tingles: MSU point guard Keith Appling said the right shoulder that popped out on him Feb. 6 still bothers him at times. But Appling said he does not blame the shoulder for his recent struggles on the court.

Contact Joe Rexrode: 313-222-2625 or jrexrode@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @joerexrode. Check out his MSU blog at freep.com/heyjoe.